Jammu and Kashmir, April 4: Now, parents, especially of children with birth defects, can breathe a sigh of relief here as an early intervention centre has been set up in Udhampur District Hospital. The centre, launched under Union health ministry's Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), has been set up for early detection of developmental delays and disorders including down syndrome in children and to provide easy access to parents who come for child's therapeutic treatment from far-flung areas.

One woman, who has been coming to the hospital for past five months, credited the centre after her child who is suffering from a mental disorder started showing signs of improvement. "My child is suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. I have been coming regularly to this hospital for the last five months and my child's (mental) health has drastically improved since he has started coming to this hospital," said Shallu.

"I am very happy that the government took such initiative," she added. Talking about the RBSK scheme, hospital's superintendent Vijay Basnotra said with the said programme, children with mental disorders are able to be a part of the mainstream. "There are a lot of children in our state that are intellectually challenged; this (RBSK) programme helps in bringing those children into the mainstream," Basnotra said. The RBSK is an important initiative aiming at early identification and early intervention for children from birth to 18 years to cover 4 'D's that is Defects at birth, Deficiencies, Diseases, Development delays including disability.